RDR urges review of calamity fund access

The policy governing the use of calamity funds by local government units (LGUs) must be reviewed to make it accessible to local  executives during crisis situations.
Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario has seen this point while looking at what has happened to areas in the National Capital Region and Northern Luzon where typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng came, one after the other, displacing families and causing damage to private property and government infrastructure.
He noted that local government executives in areas struck by the calamitous typhoons were caught off guard, leaving the National Disaster Coordinating Council at the frontline to initially handle disaster response operations.
LCEs are expected to get to the frontline of emergency and disaster response, especially since those resources for such concern are with the local government.
Noting constraints of LCEs to immediately use the calamity fund, Del Rosario pointed out the need to review the policy to access such fund.
“I do not know why, while we have reserved five percent of our budget for such a purpose, they make it so difficult for us to use that money?,”  he said.
For a local government unit to access the five percent calamity fund, there is a need to declare a state of calamity through a Sangguniang Bayan o Panlalawigan resolution.
While a town can declare its own a state of calamity, a provincial government cannot do  so unless four or five  of its towns  are experiencing a calamity.
“So, how can we help?,”  Del Rosario said.   “The policy of coming up with the calamity fund and its utilization must be  reviewed. If this requires legislation, so be it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Del Rosario credited President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for enabling the Visayas and Mindanao LGUs  to  extend assistance to typhoon-hit areas in Luzon.
“That is why the President declared a national state of calamity so other LGUs outside of Luzon can be tapped to help,”  he said.
With such declaration, LCEs were able to use a portion of their calamity funds to augment resources that the national government can use for relief operations. 
Among other LGUs in Region 11, Davao del Norte sent P1 million to the Department of Social Welfare and Development national office, Davao City gave P10 million while Compostela Valley extended P100,000 which was part of the P400,000 total assistance it gave for typhoon victims. PIA 11